Witness to Emergence December 15, 2015 Kosmos Online

Dear Readers,

As we approach the Winter Solstice at Kosmos, we reflect on completion and change. Each year, it’s as though the Earth completes one great breath. Yet, even as we prepare to enter the darker days of the year, we know life is continuous and Spring is already flowing toward us. We are grateful for the predictable grace of changing seasons.

We are the ones who must change now, allowing aspects of ourselves to die out. Fear, denial, greed, hatred, and mindless consumption no longer have a place on this Earth. As Alnoor Ladha says in this edition, ‘Another world is possible not because we can describe or even theorize her, but because the seeds of her potentiality already exist within our collective being.’ It’s time to emerge from our collective cocoon as something completely fresh and new, inspired by love. At Kosmos, we are witnessing this emergence, and strive to bring you meaningful stories as it unfolds.

This is the first edition of Kosmos Online comprised entirely of originally-sourced content. It’s a good way to end the year. We have two interviews with extraordinary peacebuilders, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, and Samina Faheem Sundas; a truly inspiring analysis of two books and two worldviews by Alnoor Ladha; a conference review on the Commons by Joni Carley; a look at the changing media landscape by Jo Ellen Green Kaiser from the current issue of Kosmos Journal; and our eagerly awaited roundup of the five most popular articles from the Journal in 2015.

In this time of gifting, your gift of support is critical to our continued efforts. Please consider a donationof any amount.You can also write for us, and share our stories with your friends. We are deeply thankful.

In a couple weeks we will announce the second annual Kosmos Seed Grants Initiative. Other than that, we are taking a rest. We will see you in the New Year, and may it truly usher in new hope and new possibilities for us all.

Have a radiant and joyful holiday season.

Your Kosmos Team

Image: FF Nana, 'Metamorphosis'

Killing the Caterpillar: Competing Worldviews at the Chrysalis Stage of Humanity

By Alnoor Ladha

The Collapse of Western Civilization
Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway
Columbia University Press, 2014

Samina Faheem Sundas, a Sunni Muslim woman originally from Pakistan living in the United States, is the founder of American Muslim Voice, a grassroots organization that seeks to foster lifelong friendships between Muslims and all communities through interfaith dialogue.

In light of recent terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Kosmos spoke with Samina Sundas about the backlash against Muslims in the mainstream media and why intercultural understanding is now more important than ever.

Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, Former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN dares to ask the question, “Is Peace A Human Right,” and in this interview offers history and perspective on the significant recent UN Resolution in support of a Culture of Peace.

Sharing the News: The Transformation of Journalism in the Digital Age

By Jo Ellen Green Kaiser
KOSMOS JOURNAL FALL | WINTER 2015

“To truly transform the news ecosystem, we will need to take positive action. Both community journalism and collaborative newsmaking face their own challenges. Community journalists can post their content, but increasingly Facebook and Google control who sees content online. Their algorithms determine what appears when you look at your feed or search a keyword. Too many stories are still hidden because we simply can’t hear the voices of the people telling them.”

Consciousness | Seeds and Soils of the Commons

by Joni Carley, DMin

Omega Institute’s 2015 Forum on the Commons focused on literal and philosophical seeds and also on developing the civic soil for bringing all seeds to their fullest fruition. Extraordinary people including Vandana Shiva, Maude Barlow, Ralph Nader, Winona LaDuke, John Todd, Will Allen and others talked about successes and challenges of a commons-centric systems, programs, policies, traditions and technologies.